3.8.04

Lake LBJ

I went out to the Krier Kabin this weekend. The Krier Kabin is at Lake LBJ. The Krier's are a family from Lubbock that I do dearly love. Jay Krier is my homie. He is my age, we graduated from high school together. Jay is living in Lubbock, poor Jay. The Krier's bought this house on Lake LBJ when we were in College. It has been the scene of many a wicked good time and/or wild retreat. I missed going out there on the Fourth of July weekend so when Jay called on Saturday to tell me to get my ass out there I obliged.

As I was leaving town I wasn't sure if my car was gonna make it. The AC hasn't been working and my gauges seem to go out when the mercury soars but I was determined to get my ass out there as I had been instructed. Once I got out on the open road the gauges came back to life and the AC actually started blowing cold air, albeit only from the defrost vents.

When I arrived all the kids were out on the boat. Steve, the patriarch of the Krier Klan was down at the dock. I snagged a couple cold beers from the fridge and went down and had a long chat with Senor Steve. He kept lookin at his watch thinking that I was anxious for Jay and the kids to get back but I was happy as a clam chatting with Steve. I have mucho respect for this man. I think he is an excellent example of what a father is supposed to be. We got to talking about dinner. He said that the boys were talking about a cookout, grill em up, maybe steaks on the barbie style din din. He made some quick calculations and by his reckoning if we were to wait for them no good niks to come back on the boat and let them do the shopping then it would surely be ten oclock before we ever sat down to dinner. So we decided to do the hero thing and nip it in the bud and so we went to the store to handle the shopping. We got salad and steaks and corn and some chips and salsa.

By the time we got back the youngins had returned from boating. The occasion, besides basic summer fun, was for Sam's buddy Chris Espino. It was a going away party weekend in Chris' honor because he is moving to New York City, a very dangerous place by all accounts. I like Sam's crew, they are four years younger than us but they are way more fun than we ever were. Many of my lake memories involve Sam's Crew. The kids that were out at the lake included Sam, Chris, Travis, Wyatt, Dan, Wilson and Chris's old girlfriend Crystal. Those kids are a hoot. I think at this point with me and Jay going over the hill and them just right in the middle of their 20's party fun, I think that those guys can out drink me and Jay or at least me.

So anyways we went out to The Slab. The Slab is a part of the Llano River where it cuts under a roadway and there is a low water crossing. Its like in the song American Pie, its a place where you can drive your Chevy to and good old boys go to drink whiskey and rye except there's no levee and you can swim. Or at least you can wade and lounge in water that's pretty shallow. There is a lot of sand out there and lots of granite outcrops. We usually go just up river from that first picture on that link page. So when were out there drinkin and smokin and just having a grand time. The sun was setting and the clouds and the light were painting the most brilliant sky. I would make some rash statement like "it was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen," but I've seen a lot of grand sunsets so to make a statement like that would be just foolish. But it really was beautiful and lounging in that water like that, and having friends all around, and gazing up at the valley and the trees and all of nature, and maybe it was the Vodka talking but I had this moment where I was so glad to be from Texas. And even though this land has belonged to other people. And even though we shed blood to take this land by force from the Indians and then the Mexicans. Well, some days I'm glad this land is the place I call home.

And then yesterday the thermometer reached like 98 and the heat index must have been 110 and like I say
busted AC
and I had to go to work
then I was like, why God , why me, why would you allow my peephole to open in a place that is so damned hot when you know that I function better in cooler climates
why God
why

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